On February 18, 2025, Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov arrived in Riyadh for a meeting with representatives of the U.S. administration. The meeting aims to address the conflict in Ukraine and to restore U.S.-Russia relations.

Lavrov will be accompanied by Yuri Ushakov, a foreign policy advisor to President Vladimir Putin.

The U.S. delegation will be led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and will include National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, and Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and reaffirmed US President Donald Trump's commitment to ending the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

The two leaders also discussed the opportunity to potentially work together on other bilateral issues.

Dmitry Peskov, Kremlin spokesman, said that the meeting will focus primarily on restoring the entire complex of Russian-American relations.

Tammy Bruce, State Department spokeswoman, said that the meeting would be more narrowly focused on the "larger issue of Ukraine".

Saudi Arabia is seeking to assume a central role in international diplomacy while deepening its ties with Washington.

Saudi Arabia will actively act as a mediator during the discussions.

The venue for these negotiations is viewed as a triumph for Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine would not take part in the Saudi Arabia-based talks or recognize any potential agreement reached in Kyiv’s absence.

Zelenskyy said he would visit Saudi Arabia separately on Wednesday and that he planned to ask Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for updates on the talks.

ANI